Chapter 646: Pacification of the Three Qins
The Great Western Emperor chased out of the Qin Palace and ran into Grand Secretary Pan Du’ao, who was rushing towards this side. Pan Du’ao was followed by two unfamiliar soldiers and was rushing towards the Qin Palace in a hurry. Zhang Zicheng was surprised and said:

“Grand Master, you’re back so soon?”

Pan Du’ao glanced at the imperial guards standing behind the emperor and said calmly:

“Not only has the enemy returned, but Liu Jinzhong and his men have also returned to Xi’an! Tens of thousands of troops have joined forces. Deng Changxiong, upon seeing the enemy approaching, retreated twenty miles to the north. He’s still waiting to see what happens and doesn’t dare to attack again. He probably thinks the Tartars are scared. Your Majesty, listen! The artillery has stopped firing.”

Zhang Zicheng stretched his ears and listened for a while. Apart from the sporadic screams of the people, he could indeed not hear the sound of the Qi army’s artillery.

“This idiot is scared, hahaha, good! Deng Changxiong is also scared sometimes!”

Zhang Zicheng’s tense expression eased slightly, and he looked around at the city of Xi’an that he ruled.

Chaotianmen Street was in a mess, with broken debris and furniture scattered on the ground, corpses of civilians everywhere, and some houses still on fire.

“You damned Tartars, you destroyed the city like this! Liu Zhaosun, you will not live a good death!”

The Daxi Emperor cursed a few times but still felt unsatisfied. He was shouting that he wanted to go out of the city to pursue him, but suddenly he remembered that he was here to chase Ai Nengqi.

He drew his sword, murderous intent in his eyes.

“Grand Secretary, did you meet the four generals on the way here just now?”

Pan Du’ao looked bewildered. “I didn’t meet General Ai. Why did Your Majesty look for him? He might still be at the North Gate…”

Zhang Zicheng was furious and shouted, “Damn it! This thief seduced Concubine Cai! I just happened to catch him! This is an adulterous couple!”

Pan Zhan’ao signaled Zhang Zicheng to speak in a lower voice. He looked around and waved his hand for the guards to step aside.

Upon seeing this, the Great Western Emperor also waved his hand behind him, and the fully armored Imperial Guards immediately retreated more than ten steps away.

Zhang Zicheng gnashed his teeth and said, “Fuck him! In the winter of the second year of the Tianqi reign, Ai Nengqi nearly starved to death in Huangzhuang, Suide. I gave him half a piece of bread and saved him! What an ungrateful bastard! He even stole from a hungry woman.”

The Grand Secretary listened while glancing around, his eyes sweeping across a secluded alley about a hundred steps away.

There was a chestnut horse tied in the alley, with only its red tail sticking out, and it took some effort to see it.

Pan Du’ao supported the Great Western Emperor and comforted him as they walked:
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I thought it was a big deal! But it turns out it’s all because of this, a woman. It’s not worth it, not worth it.”

Zhang Zicheng was furious and followed Pan Zhan’ao without thinking, saying angrily:
“She’s a hungry woman! The most beautiful woman in Mizhi County!”

“I know when I’m hungry, I know when I’m hungry.”

The Grand Secretary showed an expression that only Liu Xiahui could have, and said righteously:
“Your Majesty, haven’t you heard that if you want to remain emperor, you have to wear some green on your head?”

“What?”

Pan Du’ao repeated it again with a serious expression.

Zhang Zicheng turned around and walked towards the north gate.

“Don’t joke around, I’m going to wait until the Tartars are destroyed.”

Pan Du’ao was unwilling to let Zhang Zicheng go, and he yelled at the Emperor of Daxi.

“Your Majesty, do you know Li Xianzhong?!”

Zhang Zicheng was surprised. Li Xianzhong, the King of Rebellion, was known to everyone in the world.

“Does your Majesty know this man?”

Zhang Zicheng thought for a while and shook his head.

Although both of them were from Suide Prefecture, one was in Mizhi County and the other in the prefecture capital, and they were not together when they started the rebellion.

To put it bluntly, the two of them actually have little in common, just like the sun and the moon on a sunny day, they have never met.

“What does the Grand Secretary want to say?”

At this time, there were only more than ten steps away from tying the horse’s tail. Pan Du’ao stood facing Zhang Zicheng with his body facing the alley. He raised his arm and scratched his bun.

“Your Majesty, you have been in the palace for a long time, so you may not know that Li Xianzhong’s first wife was called Han Jin’er. She was a great beauty. She had an affair with a Mizhi yamen runner without Li Xianzhong’s knowledge, and was killed by Li Xianzhong…”

Zhang Zicheng interrupted, “I know that. Are you finished?”

Pan Du’ao continued: “The second wife was named Madam Xing, who was abducted by Li Xianzhong as his wife. This woman had an affair with Ai Chu, a general under Li Xianzhong. Ai Chu not only took away King Chuang’s wife, but also took away all the rare treasures that Li Xianzhong’s men had looted over the years.” The Emperor of Dashi was obviously unaware of Li Xianzhong’s second marriage tragedy, and he was deeply touched.

“It turns out that Lao Li is even worse off than me. There aren’t many good people with the surname Ai!”

Zhang Zicheng was a little out of breath, and Pan Zhan’ao hurried forward to support him.

“Yes, Your Majesty, those who achieve great things do not need to care about the personal affairs of their children.”

“If you want to sit on the throne, you have to wear some green on your head. Women are just clothes, they can be thrown away when they are dirty. Generals are hard to come by. You can’t pick up sesame seeds and throw away watermelons, making a losing business. Now that the Qi army is invading Shaanxi, it is time to use men.”

“Your Majesty, why not give the Imperial Concubine to the Fourth General? He will surely be grateful for your grace…”

Pan Zhan’ao moved closer to Zhang Zicheng as he spoke, and before they knew it, they had reached the entrance of the alley.

When Pan Zhan’ao said the words “grateful for the emperor’s grace”, he suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed Zhang Zicheng in the heart.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Zicheng was prepared. He stretched out his hand and tightly grasped the blade. His left palm was soon covered in blood. He swung his right fist and hit Pan Zhan’ao’s temple hard.

Grand Secretary Pan dodged hurriedly, and his iron fist grazed the top of his head and flew out. The Great Western Emperor took advantage of the situation and kicked him out with a bang.

Fortunately, the Blacksmith Emperor had long lost his muscular body, and his punches and kicks were not as powerful as they were ten years ago. However, with just this kick, Pan Zhan’ao vomited blood and fell to the ground.

“Damn it! I trusted you so much, and you, a piece of shit, dared to plot against me. With your body, you can write articles and sing Qinqiang, but you dare to be an assassin? Are you tired of living?”

The Yulin Guards in the distance noticed the fight at the alley entrance and immediately walked towards this side. These people were Zhang Zicheng’s confidants and had followed the Great Western Emperor through life and death for many years.

“No need to come over, I can kill him like a stink bug!”

Zhang Zicheng waved his hand to tell the guards not to come over. He bent down to pick up the dagger that Pan Zhan’ao had dropped, and played with it in his palm for a while.

Then he pointed the dagger at Pan Zhan’ao who was lying on the ground.

“You’re colluding with the Tartars, hoping to break into the city with internal help?”

Pan Zhan’ao raised his arms weakly.

Zhang Zicheng threw the dagger on the ground and said angrily:
“It’s a waste that I trust you so much. I’ve never trusted anyone in my life! I finally trusted someone, and you teamed up with outsiders to harm me…”

Before the Great Western Emperor could finish his words, he caught a glimpse of something facing him in the alley.

Zhang Zicheng looked carefully and now he could see it clearly.

The fourth general, Ai Nengqi, drew his bow and aimed his arrow at himself. Behind him, deep in the alley, there were densely packed armored soldiers.

“You…how are you here!?”

Before he could react, a heavy arrow dipped in poison pierced directly through the neck of the Great Western Emperor.

The fourth general, Ai Nengqi, took the lead, dragging a goose-feather knife, and took two steps at a time, walked out of the dark alley, and came before the Emperor of Daxi.

In just a few breaths, Zhang Zicheng fell to the ground, raised his hand to grasp the arrow shaft that pierced his throat, and let out a groan.

The Yulin Guards patrolling around finally realized that something was wrong and rushed over here. Some guards began shooting arrows.

Ai Nengqi’s two personal soldiers held long shields and stood in front to block the rain of arrows.

Ai Nengqi raised his sword and chopped off the head of the Great Western Emperor.

With a loud bang, Zhang Zicheng’s head was thrown high into the air and fell to the middle of the street. After rolling several times in the rubble, it finally stopped. His eyes were wide open, staring at the sky, and he died with his eyes open.

The four generals’ banners were flying high, with a big word “Ai” written on them.

The densely packed Dashi Army gathered under the big flag, holding muskets and spears and pointing them at the Dashi Army that came to suppress them.

The two sides of the Dashi Army confronted each other with Zhang Zicheng’s head between them.

The terrifying roar of rockets could be heard again outside the city.

Ai Nengqi pushed aside the long sign blocking his way and shouted:

“Zhang Zicheng is dead, and Qi’s 100,000-strong army has breached the north gate. Those who surrender will not be killed!”

(End of this chapter)